Pete Germano holds the longest tenure on the Ohio staff and was the lone assistant retained when Frank Solich took over the program in 2005. Germano began with the defensive line in 2009 after spending the past eight seasons as the Bobcats' recruiting coordinator and four seasons working with the tight ends. He has also had a two-year stint as the Bobcats' outside linebackers coach, working with them from 2003-04.

In 2010, Stafford Gatling was a second-team All-MAC performer for the Bobcats and finished fifth in the league in tackles for loss (13.5) and seventh in the league in sacks (6.5). The defensive co-captain finished sixth on the Bobcats in tackles with 53 stops and tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles. Gatling recorded six tackles, including 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss with a forced fumble in Ohio's 34-17 win over Buffalo which earned him the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week.

In 2009, Ohio defensive end DakNotestine led the team with 10.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Defensive tackle Ernie Hodge also had 48 stops, along with 5.5 tackles for loss en route to third-team All-MAC honors.

Under his tutelage, the Bobcat tight ends became an integral part of the offense. In 2007, tight end Andrew Mooney set the Ohio single-season touchdown reception record and earned his first All-MAC selection. Mooney also picked up third-team All-MAC recognition in 2008. The tight end unit has also been critical to the running game's success. The Bobcat tight ends helped pave the way for the MAC's best rushing offense in 2007.

Germano has also had special team responsibilities with the Bobcats' kickoff return and punting units. In 2007, Ohio boasted the best kickoff return average in the MAC with an average of 25.1 yards per return, helping return man Chris Garrett secure the top spot on the Bobcat all-time kick return average list.

Ohio's last two recruiting classes have yielded three players named to The Sporting News Freshman All-America teams. Ohio's 2008 recruiting class was named the best recruiting class in the MAC by the MAC Report Online and earned the site's only "A" rating for the year.

Germano came to Athens on Jan. 25, 2001 after two years as head coach at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. While there, he began the rebuilding process for the Spartan program, leading them to 2-8 and 3-7 records in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

Prior to taking over at CWRU, Germano spent nine years at Wabash College. He held various titles there including defensive coordinator, strength coach, linebacker coach, recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach. His defensive units led the conference six times while being nationally ranked on three occasions. Wabash won the conference title four times during the 1990s: 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1998.

Germano began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Fairmont State (W.Va.) College. He started as their receivers/tight ends coach and then moved to defense where he presided over the defensive line for one year. Germano's last three years at Fairmont State were spent as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. He helped the team earn a top-ten ranking in NAIA Division I and a playoff appearance in 1988.

Germano received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Ohio Wesleyan in 1982. While at OWU, he earned four letters in football and two in baseball. He went on to receive his master's degree in physical education and athletic administration from Bowling Green in 1983.

In 1984, he was selected as the head athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Reds' Double-A farm team, the Vermont Reds.

Germano was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball at Benedictine High School in Cleveland. In 2006, Germano was inducted into the Benedictine Athletic Hall of Fame. In football, he was a special mention All-Ohio selection, an All-District First Team pick and was one of 12 area players honored by the Cleveland Touchdown Club. Germano helped the Bengals reach the 1978 state baseball finals and was named to the Cleveland Plain Dealer All-Scholastic team as a pitcher-shortstop. In basketball, he led the Bengals in scoring as a junior and senior and was also a co-captain.

He and his wife, Jackie, have three children - Nicole, Joey and Michael.